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Hey HN, Alex and Ben here, and we wanted to share a simple web app we created recently. UI Filler is a quick way to get placeholders for your designs. We do a

Hey HN, Alex and Ben here, and we wanted to share a simple web app we created recently. UI Filler is a quick way to get placeholders for your designs. We do a lot of UI design and development and frequently need to fill it with placeholder content. I usually just Google “Lorem ipsum” and end up on a site about the history of lorem ipsum, then copy and paste some small chunk of it to fill the field I need. Ben, who is even more design-oriented than I am, tries to make up appropriate text to fill fields (my favorite thing he does is placeholder names, like “Anita McLaren”). We decided to make a tool that would save us a bit of time every time we needed a placeholder, so we built UIFiller. Let me know what you think!

throwaway888abc 4y ago
Brilliant idea! Bookmarked. Will use. Some wish list: - implement seed number (to get same results every time) - json endpoint - little bit more of data types
- blooalien 4y ago
  Yes! A JSON RESTful API GET endpoint would be SWEET! Easy scriptable way to populate a local testing / design resources folder with some fast starter data. Just to name one possible use that came instantly to mind for my uses. Love the random seed idea, too.
- alexray 4y ago
  Those are great ideas. I hadn't thought of including a seed, but it shouldn't be too hard to set up. What kinds of data types are you imagining?
danielvaughn 4y ago
I'm about to build something similar, not as a standalone product, but as an internal component for a side project of mine. If this could be fleshed out, and delivered as an API, I'd pay for it.
- kc10 4y ago
  something like this? https://fakerjs.dev/ https://fakerjs.dev/
- bartvk 4y ago
  Not an API but as a library, a friend of mine made this for Java/Kotlin: https://www.datafaker.net/ https://www.datafaker.net/
- alexray 4y ago
  Interesting -- want to chat and tell me a bit more? You can send me an email at alex at ui filler dot com
alex3305 4y ago
Great idea, thanks for this! The only thing I would change is the background color of the site. The high visibility jacket green does not contrast well with the white boxes and dark gray text. I also get a bit of afterimage, but that's probably because of me.
- alexray 4y ago
  That's a fair callout -- thanks. We will probably make the color a little less intense in the future, or at least give an option of muting it :)
wallawe 4y ago
This makes a ton of sense as a browser extension, why not go that route? With this, I still have to google your site (or at least type it into the url bar if i remember the exact url)
- blooalien 4y ago
  If you use it a lot, this makes a ton of sense as a bookmark on your browser's quick access bookmark bar, sidebar, or new tab page. It would also make great sense as a script accessible JSON API endpoint, as another reader here suggested.
- alexray 4y ago
  How do you imagine using it as a browser extension?
  - iratewizard 4y ago
    Click icon, scroll to desired filler and copy or download
ActualBest 4y ago
If you click just a little too far to the right of the Shuffle button, you download instead.
- alexray 4y ago
  Oops! I'll fix that :)
lazyjeff 4y ago
Nice idea, I could imagine using this. Just a thought, it might be nice to see more variation in the Lorem Ipsum, like with text that include numbers and links and capitalized word, maybe even multiple paragraphs.
- alexray 4y ago
  That's a great idea

throwaway888abc 4y ago

Brilliant idea! Bookmarked. Will use. Some wish list: - implement seed number (to get same results every time) - json endpoint - little bit more of data types

blooalien 4y ago
Yes! A JSON RESTful API GET endpoint would be SWEET! Easy scriptable way to populate a local testing / design resources folder with some fast starter data. Just to name one possible use that came instantly to mind for my uses. Love the random seed idea, too.
alexray 4y ago
Those are great ideas. I hadn't thought of including a seed, but it shouldn't be too hard to set up. What kinds of data types are you imagining?

danielvaughn 4y ago

I'm about to build something similar, not as a standalone product, but as an internal component for a side project of mine. If this could be fleshed out, and delivered as an API, I'd pay for it.

kc10 4y ago
something like this? https://fakerjs.dev/ https://fakerjs.dev/
bartvk 4y ago
Not an API but as a library, a friend of mine made this for Java/Kotlin: https://www.datafaker.net/ https://www.datafaker.net/
alexray 4y ago
Interesting -- want to chat and tell me a bit more? You can send me an email at alex at ui filler dot com

alex3305 4y ago

Great idea, thanks for this! The only thing I would change is the background color of the site. The high visibility jacket green does not contrast well with the white boxes and dark gray text. I also get a bit of afterimage, but that's probably because of me.

alexray 4y ago
That's a fair callout -- thanks. We will probably make the color a little less intense in the future, or at least give an option of muting it :)

wallawe 4y ago

This makes a ton of sense as a browser extension, why not go that route? With this, I still have to google your site (or at least type it into the url bar if i remember the exact url)

blooalien 4y ago
If you use it a lot, this makes a ton of sense as a bookmark on your browser's quick access bookmark bar, sidebar, or new tab page. It would also make great sense as a script accessible JSON API endpoint, as another reader here suggested.
alexray 4y ago
How do you imagine using it as a browser extension?
- iratewizard 4y ago
  Click icon, scroll to desired filler and copy or download

ActualBest 4y ago

If you click just a little too far to the right of the Shuffle button, you download instead.

alexray 4y ago
Oops! I'll fix that :)

lazyjeff 4y ago

Nice idea, I could imagine using this. Just a thought, it might be nice to see more variation in the Lorem Ipsum, like with text that include numbers and links and capitalized word, maybe even multiple paragraphs.

alexray 4y ago
That's a great idea